Welcome to my page. This is an overview of some of the concept and ideas that we could create in the classroom. I tried to break down some of the elements, so teachers can see what kind of technology and software might be required.
In some cases, there isn't a lot of technology involved, just creativity and a fearless voice. Please let me know if you would like to share an idea, modify one of these projects for your class, create a packet that they can do, or something that isn't here. I like a challenge when it comes to stories and collaboration.
LETTERS TO HUMANITY
The concept of letter writing is becoming a thing of yesteryear, but this came about a few years ago and I have had some stunning letter from students and friends.
Awhile back, I read an article in Life Magazine by Tim O'Brien who wrote a letter to his little baby son. It was very moving and it made me think, what if we could write to people who don't know us yet or people who couldn't know us because they passed or moved from our lives? What would that look like? What if they started with a why questions?
I don't teach a lot in terms of writing the letter. It just happens with the students who attempt it in earnest. And really, the connections and the emotions are very real and very human.
In some cases, there isn't a lot of technology involved, just creativity and a fearless voice. Please let me know if you would like to share an idea, modify one of these projects for your class, create a packet that they can do, or something that isn't here. I like a challenge when it comes to stories and collaboration.
LETTERS TO HUMANITY
The concept of letter writing is becoming a thing of yesteryear, but this came about a few years ago and I have had some stunning letter from students and friends.
Awhile back, I read an article in Life Magazine by Tim O'Brien who wrote a letter to his little baby son. It was very moving and it made me think, what if we could write to people who don't know us yet or people who couldn't know us because they passed or moved from our lives? What would that look like? What if they started with a why questions?
I don't teach a lot in terms of writing the letter. It just happens with the students who attempt it in earnest. And really, the connections and the emotions are very real and very human.
This presentation was from a freshman college enrichment program but could be used to enhance any level highschool.
Lastly, this can be an emotional letter to read out loud. Many like to read and share their moment, but often it is very emotional. I've had some really life-changing readings of letters. Keep that in mind.
QR PROJECT
This is a fun project that can be created in and around other ideas. QR (Quick Response) Codes are those crazy boxes you see on products that people can scan and find out more information about something. In essence, they are keys to unlocking information. For example, I put them on my assignment sheets and ask students to scan the QR code on their assignment to be sure they have a link in case they lose the paper copy (they often do).
But there are other amazing QR code applications, including labeling trees and plants on a nature walk, making QR code t-shirts, making friends.
QR Codes are easy technology to create, it is just an app that creates the code for you and then you put the box on whatever you like. But what is more innovative is the way you can make things, share things, and eventually give students a chance to connect.
In a graphic novel course, all the students reviewed a graphic novel that we had at the library. Then we assigned that page to a QR Code and made them into bookmarks. Then (with permission from the library) we inserted the bookmarks into the books. Students were able to scan the code and read a frank review from a student. For more information about these projects to inspire you, check out this post. FACT & FICTION
This workshop is based on the interconnections that fiction and factual stories hold. This discussion examines books that are using different elements to suggest they are something they are not.
An example -in the beginning of The Perfect Storm, Junger suggests that while he was very careful to get his story right, that at some point, he simply doesn't know what happened to the crew of the Andrea Gail. In the end, he is pushing into fiction or speculation in order to bring his story to a conclusion. In other stories, like Moby Dick, we have a fictional story based on a true account. And reading the real account, it is clear that reality is darker than Melville proposed in his epic story. All memoirs shift in and out of visionary ideas that sway between reality and good storytelling. In A Million Little Pieces, it moved closer to fiction, in fact, he was selling his book as fiction until he was convinced that he could sell it as a true story.
It is also important to consider other elements. Gennet called them "paratext" or text that isn't part of the story but assumes things about the story. Forwards, prefaces, biographies, footnotes and other elements of paratext create a kind of mask for the story to hang on.
POSTCARDS
Flash fiction is popular, but I think very hard to do well. In this project, the idea is to write a fictional story like a short news article. By making them based around your town or in the community, they can be silly little stories or dispatches from the strange edge of town. This is something that was defined in the Connected Learning MOOC and was really fun to make something. Depending on printing capabilities, this is a fun project to print out their stories on postcards and share them or send them to another class that also participated in the project. Templates and cardstock are easy to bring together to make a quick printout available. If you have a smaller budget, you can create them through Powerpoint or some other layout program and just send them electronically to other students and community members.
DIGITAL HUMANITIES PROJECTS
For freshman college students, I've worked on explaining the significance our digital projects that enhance their lives or their communities.
More coming.
